Pokémon: Roxas' Journey VOL 1
by 19jchoi
Summary: In the Galar Region, a boy named Roxas has no clue as to who his parents are. Wanting to find the truth for himself as well as wanting to escape the reality he is in, he ventures into a world where there were beast people that lived separately from humans, in a place called Jutengai. As he ventures into Jutengai, the boy is soon to be thrown into a tough, but fun adventure.


**Chapter 1: The Discovery to a Kingdom! Visit Jutengai!**

**Roxas' POV**

Ow... Even with the bruises going away, it still-

Oh... Hey there... I didn't know you were there. You remember what I just said? Just... forget about it... It's nothing to be really concerned of. It's something... I had a little trouble of handling during the past when I was trying to protect someone.

But it's no big deal. It's something I can get over with... as long as it doesn't hurt much... Although, it's easier said than done with the way my body is in...

My name? You want to know who I am? Well... I don't know my surname, but... My name... is Roxas.

I know... Weird, right? It feels like I've taken the name of someone else, but... it was a name given to me. As for who gave it to me, I'm not exactly sure. I've been told that my name has been given to me by my parents.

But... to tell you the truth, I don't really know who my parents are exactly. The adults in my time are claiming that they died the day I was born, but... I'm not sure whether I wanted to believe that or not.

I mean, I wanted to believe that my family was still alive, but... there were no clues or trace as to where my parents were. All I could do was... trust in the possible lies that the people have said to me...

That my parents were dead the day I was born... If that's true, then why did they die? How did they die? And where did this happen exactly?

Of course, I was told with lies that they died by some sort of disease or poison, but if that's true... then why are we still alive...? Why are the people in my hometown still alive and why am I still alive?

I couldn't be alive if there were any diseases...

But in any case, I had to go through with the lie, because... I was the only one who believed in that fact.

As I had grown older, I soon became one of the outcasts in my town... all because I wanted to believe in something different... Something like wanting to seek the truth, while some people sought the fake truth.

In order words, lies... Lies... All of them were just lies so that I wouldn't know the truth. I don't know if it's to protect me from the bitter truth, but...

Anyways... I was just on a walk around town, not minding the looks I was getting from the townspeople. Some felt pity for me for being alone, while some looked down on me for what I was in person.

But I chose to ignore those looks, because confronting them wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't make things better for me as I was already considered one of the outcasts in my hometown.

I brushed my dark brown bangs from my eyes and just continued walking. If you wanted to know what I look like, then allow me to explain it to you.

As a ten year old, I wasn't that much big... just... average size like any other ten year old kids would be.

My outfit consisted of a black t-shirt with a gray jacket over it. I had a nose bandage on me... and if you want to know, then I got it because I got a little cut on the nose, causing me to have the bandage on it.

But that was five years ago, and well... I got pretty used to it.

My lower outfit consisted of navy shorts along with black sandals. Brief, right? Well, that's what I'm used to wearing ever since I wore them around when I was just an eight year old. But in any case, as I continued to walk, I headed towards the woods that was near my hometown.

I always headed there in case I needed to get the stress out of me for the looks I got from people... And to visit my wild Pokémon friends that lived here in the forest... But what I didn't expect was...

"Huh? What the...?" I started to say in surprise when a bright light shone in front of my eyes!

"AH!" I could only yell in surprise as the light blinded me, preventing me from seeing what was going on. But what came to my sight next when I opened my eyes again surprised me as I could only look around.

"Where... Where am I?" That's all I could ask myself as I looked around.

I was currently in some sort of... alleyway? No, more like... a strange passageway. As I began to walk through the passageway, I found myself being more confused as to where I was going.

Every so often, I would find a basket that seemed to be made out of bamboo filled with flowers placed on the cobblestones... It's as if to, mark the spot.

To tell you the truth, that's all I could make out of the flowers as I continued walking around. But as I continued to walk around, I started to feel like this... this passageway was some sort of a maze.

I mean, no matter where I went, it seemed to be the same. It just seemed to be a little different at the same time as I walked through to different directions, I saw different creatures... They didn't seem to be Pokémon...

I mean, if they were Pokémon, I would've known what they are, yet... I didn't know.

One gray fur cat-like creature was on the hole in the wall, staring at me without moving an inch... Another creature looked like a Deerling but a bit larger like a Sawsbuck... The next was like a chicken-like...?

To tell you the truth, I don't know where I was anymore. One thing's certain... This place was definitely not a part of my hometown.

As I was trying to think of where I wanted to go to see if I could get out of this crazy maze, something was coming to me as I heard sounds of footsteps coming to where I was standing.

To my surprise, it looked like... some sort of horse! It wasn't a Ponyta or a Mudsdale, that's for sure! Before I could react, the horse pushed me, pushing me forward as I couldn't try to push him back...

"H-Hey! What are you...!? Stop!" I tried to yell while pushing the horse back. But due to the size and the strength that the horse had, which was greater than mine, my effort to push it back was futile as I was pushed even further.

Soon, I was pushed out of the passageway and land on the ground on my face, which seemed to be quite hard... like a cobblestone.

"Ow..." I winced as I shook my head, recovering from the impact my face had to take before I glanced back to see that the horse who pushed me stood up on its... two legs? Wait... two legs!?

I snapped my head up in surprise, as I looked around to see where I was now.

The place seemed to be like a large stone manor of some kind, and under the tented courtyard, there were lots of strange-looking people bustling about in the tented courtyards, with some lamps around them.

Those... Those weren't people. And they were definitely not Pokémon if those beings were able to act like... humans...! So what are they!?

As I tried to turn back to the passageway to get myself out of the crazy place...

"W-What the...!? How...!? I was sure this was the way I came out of from...!"

The passageway that I had gotten out of... was now a wall! It was like the passageway was never there to begin with...!

Oh no... Not good... Not good...!

I glanced back to hear the beings whisper, as if they had took notice of me and were looking rather cautious of me. The eyes they were giving me weren't exactly nice, but not so mean either.

It was more like... they were either curious or wary of me. It's like they've never seen a human like me before...!

"Who is that kid...?"

"Another human? Just how many humans are going to come in here...?"

"Let's just hope those humans don't show their dangerous sides..."

Huh? Another human? Humans? Wait... Are they saying that I'm not the only human here...? But... judging from their words and their expressions, it's as if they don't appreciate humans being around these people.

Just... where am I exactly? I said this before and I'll say it again... This place was definitely not or near the hometown that I lived in...!

* * *

**(Pokémon Opening: A Yell of Thirst (English Subbed))**

**(I do not own the opening song. This song belongs to Toei Anime.)**

(The screen shows a sword before a hand grabs it to show Roxas grabbing it)

_**Let us keep going...  
W**__**alking arm in arm.  
**_

(Roxas walks straight with a calm look and with the sword scabbard at his side)

_**While counting the disappearing dreams...  
Exhausted, I finally found my friends.  
**_

(The opening title shows up)

(Then, it shows Roxas with his Jutengai friends, all walking together)

_**That road you're familiar with...  
Lately, you've been getting lost on it...  
**_

(The group are shown in order; Max and Kyuta, Kanoe and AJ, Sora and a fox girl)

(Kumatetsu and Akane are shown next, followed by Hyakushubo and Tatara)

_**From the darkness...  
Another me is created.  
**_

(Roxas is curled up into a ball, putting his face to his knees)

(Darkness surrounds him before a Roxas figure smirks down at him)

_**Dry shouts pierce my broken heart  
I want to see your world...  
Come along with me...  
**_

(Roxas faces a smirking bull beast as he calls out Eevee to face Obstagoon)

(The battle ends with Eevee defeating Obstagoon)

(Roxas and Max stands together at a high cliff, as they watch the sun rising)

_**The answer that no can find is inside me...**_

(Isamu appears with a stern look on his face with Umbreon and Typhlosion)

(A hooded man smirks evilly down at Roxas and the Jutengai group)

_**The key to the tactics...  
Make it! Fly at higher game!  
**_

(Roxas and Max stand together with crossed arms and their backs against each other with smiles on their faces)

**(Opening End)**

* * *

**Later...**

With no one looking like they want to harm me, I began to explore around the place while remaining a little wary of the people that didn't look human.

All I could think of was, that this was the place I was currently trapped in, leaving me no chance that I could get back to where my hometown was... if I was even near my hometown, that is.

While I was walking across the town, I didn't notice a couple of kids that seemed to be around my age or younger glaring at me as they started to trail after me. I never noticed them coming, until...!

I ducked down to feel something zipping over me as I turned in surprise to see that it was some kid that tried to land a punch on me!

"Darn it! I missed!" The kid grunted as I jumped back, glaring at the kid. From the looks of it, he looked a little chubby but quite the fighter as he seemed to have a sword equipped next to his side.

Behind him were a couple of other kids that seemed to be leering at me, as if to try and mock or intimidate me.

"What do you all want...?" I asked warily, causing the leading kid to glare at me with a smirk.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to exterminate you, human! I wasn't able to do so with the others like those weaklings before, but now I have a chance to do it with you!" The leading kid declared, causing me to blink.

Wait... exterminate!? Me!? What did I do!? All I want to do now is to find a way to get back home!

But before I could protest to his declaration, I soon find myself surrounded by his friends, looking like I was unable to escape now.

Dammit... Now what can I do...!? Do I have to fight him to get myself out of this mess!? From the looks of it, he did seem to have a Pokémon as he had a Pokéball on his belt that was inside his yellow coat...

But from the way his eyes and how his fists are ready, it didn't seem to be a Pokémon battle, but rather a fistfight...

Honestly, I preferred to battle with Pokémon, but... WHOA!

Another punch was aimed at me as the kid tried to land a punch at me, while getting faster at the punches. But I was no easy target as I quickly dodged each and every one of his strikes!

The kids that were watching watched in awe, possibly waiting for me to get pummeled by the kid fighting me, or how I was able to quickly dodge every strike this kid was trying to throw at me...!

A little time passed as I didn't try to fight back as I was too busy on dodging the punches I was getting. As for the kid, he started to look a little tired and a bit annoyed by my continuous dodging as he growled.

"GAH! Hold still, will you!?" He snapped at me as I glared at him back.

"And let you hit me? Sorry, but I'd rather take my chances dodging!" I grunted back as I continued to dodge his strikes. This was starting to get a little tiring, as I knew that I couldn't keep dodging forever...!

"Whatever you weirdo! You're just a human and you aren't allowed in our town!" The kid snapped, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"Says who?" I asked, before he responded back immediately.

"Says my Dad!" The kid shot back as I frowned, not sure of how to answer to this before I spoke to him to make him stop punching me.

"Well that's just discriminating... Do I look like I could hurt someone...?" I asked, causing him to blink in surprise. By that time, he had finally stopped punching me and stopped as I took several deep breaths, trying to catch my breath for all the dodging I had to do.

"Eh...? Well..." The kid looked quite hesitant for an answer. The other kids just watched, bewildered for what happened while some others were thinking, probably the same question that I had asked the kid just now.

No one bothered to try and answer, so I began to take my leave, not wanting to deal with his any further.

"If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I want to try to go back to..." I grunted as I left the group as the kids got out of the way to let me through. Surprisingly, I didn't hear any more footsteps, which could mean that they decided to give up on trying to beat me up.

That, in a way made me feel relieved as I could try to find some clues to get back home without any problems now. But... now I've got a little problem to deal with. How do I get back home, exactly?

The only reason how I got here was... because of that blinding light. What was that light about, anyway? It's as if... it teleported me to this world or something... but wait... That's crazy, right? There's no way that can be-

"Hey wait...!"

I stopped in surprise, hearing what seemed to be a girl as I turned around to see... a human girl running over to where I was!

Was she one of the humans that the strange people were talking about? As I turned around to get a closer look at her, she seemed to be quite older than I was, but still young...

She looked like an average high school girl with somewhat fair tanned skin with grayish green eyes, and has long wavy unkempt dark blue hair, with some of her hair held up in a ponytail by a dark hair tie with beads on it. She also dons a read headband on top of her head.

She wore a white shirt that seemed to look slightly feminine with it having a v-neck to show off her chest with a red sash wrapped around her waist including a short dark blue fighting skirt and underneath them are short black compression shorts while wearing combat slippers shoes.

She even had a forest green zipper hoodie with shallow side pockets and zippers on the sleeves reaching to her elbows, and red circles decorated on the bottom left and upper right sleeve.

Who is this girl...? And what did she want with me?

"Wait... are you... another human here in the Beast Kingdom?" The girl asked, catching me surprise. Beast Kingdom? Was that what this place was called...?

"Beast... Kingdom? Is that what this place is called...?" I asked, wanting to know more about the place on where I was. For the girl, she blinked, before trying to explain on what this Beast Kingdom was.

"Huh? Yeah... it's here in the Galar Region... 'Course while there are some places both human and beasts live together in certain towns and cities here in Galar... this place is ancient but has a dislike to humans..." The girl explained.

So... this Beast Kingdom is a part of the Galar region? Then that must mean I could be near where my hometown is. But wait, did she say beast? Were those what those strange people were? Even those kids that cornered me earlier?

But before I ask any further, the girl seemed to have forgotten on what she wanted to ask me as she seemed to have recalled it right now.

"Oh right! What am I saying?! W-Who are you... did you also wander here?" She asked as I frowned.

"...Don't know if I did..." I admitted, catching her by surprise before I tried to explain of how I got into this crazy place in the first place.

"I remember having a walk in the woods when all of a sudden... I'm suddenly here after a bright light shines out of nowhere and here I am..." I explained, trying to make things a bit clear.

Although, it didn't seem to be clear enough as she looked a little confused while trying to understand of how I got here...

"Huh? Really? Well-"

"HEY!"

Just before she could say anymore, there was a loud voice snapping for what sounded like a big scream as she groaned, face palming at what she just heard. Judging by her expression, she seemed to recognize that voice.

"Oh no..." She groaned as I had to ask...

"Hm? You know that scream?" I asked, earning a nod from her.

"Yep..." She sighed as suddenly, a big guy came towards us, looking quite angry as his expression seemed to show that way.

This guy had a lean wiry frame that belies his massive strength. He has fiery red waist-length hair, hazel eyes with slit like pupils, short fangs in his mouth. His ears are furry triangular, similar to his father's and pointed like a bear.

A bear... Is he a bear beast?

He had a red blazer that sits atop of his shoulders while wearing a white training V-neck shirt with a black sash wrapped around his waist with baggy dark blue sweats with the end of the pants rolled up in a puffy style. He wears brown sandals and carries his sword with him attached to his pants.

Not taking notice of me, he stomped up to the girl, glaring at her for some reason...

"What the hell were you thinking leaving?!" The boy snapped as the girl glared at her back.

"I had my rights to leave like that. I was trying to take a leave from you due to your stupid training. Maybe I'll go and find a better person who doesn't shout 'Whoosh' and 'Bam' like some child." The girl snapped back.

That seemed to have gotten his nerves as he growled at the girl, looking like he was ready to try and take her down.

"Oh, you wanna go there?! Come and fight me?! Prove that you're better than me?!" He shouted out loud, causing the girl to glare back at her.

"Maybe!" The girl shot back as I widened my eyes.

They were going to fight here!? That doesn't sound good at all...! Taking quick action, I stood in between them to stop them from hurting each other or worse.

"H-Hold on! Stop!" I called out, only to get a snap and glares from the two of them.

"What?!" They snapped in unison as I winced a little. Did they have to be that loud...?

"U-Um... I... don't know how you two know each other, but... can't we just... talk about this? Without trying to kill each other?" I tried to ask softly, causing them to look a bit surprised for what I had said just now.

"Kill? Who said we were going to kill each other?" The two asked together in unison before they blinked and glared at each other.

"Your expressions, your tone, and the way you two know each other says so..." I tried to say, feeling a bit nervous of being in between two people that seemed to be a lot older than I was, despite both still looking young.

"...Fine... to start it off, my name is Kanoe Fey... I'm sure you heard of me... I'm... a popstar idol... but I gone on hiatus... apparently." The girl, who I know now as Kanoe explained with a sigh.

"Huh? A popstar idol?" I questioned, looking confused. I never heard of... Kanoe Fey as an idol before. The only idol I know of was the Snow Fairy Idol, who was extremely popular in the Unova region...

"I know...but I'm on break." Kanoe explained to me while the boy scoffed, sounding rather annoyed that I was around him.

"Tch... great, another human kid. Fine, the name is Maxwell Kyochi but you can just call me Max for short. I'm her sensei." The beast boy, who I now know as Max explained, as Kanoe just glared at him.

"A terrible one." Kanoe grunted, leaving me to be a little confused.

This beast guy, Max, is her sensei? That's kinda weird, considering they seem to be in the same age, with Max looking like he's a little older than her.

"A terrible one?" I repeated in confusion, earning a nod from her.

"Yeah! This kid shouts Boom and Wham to try and teach me and my friends when it doesn't make sense!" Kanoe complained as I raised an eyebrow. With the way she is saying it, that does sound like terrible teaching.

"It's our first time teaching! Not my fault that my dad can't handle a single apprentice since all those other idiots like go to Iozen and expects him to be the lord of Jutengai!" Max snapped back.

Iozen? Lord of Jutengai? What's that about...? Before I could ask, their argument goes on back and forth.

"For a seventeen year old yelling a girl who's a year younger than you... you have zero respect to me." Kanoe growled as Max scoffed and glared back at her, not caring whether she was a girl or not... apparently.

"I don't care if you're an idol or whatever, but you're my apprentice and you'll do what me and my dad says, okay?!" Max snapped as Kanoe shook her head, looking like she was in annoyance or disbelief.

"That's not how it even works... AJ can handle you guys apparently, but Kyuta... yeah, right. Look, I just needed a break, okay? Besides... you aren't trying." Kanoe groaned, leaving me to be a little more confused.

"Shaddup..." Max growled back, sounding a little more angry.

AJ and Kyuta? Are those the other two humans that were with these two guys? Whatever the case is, it seems like Kanoe and the other names I've heard seem to be having trouble with Max teaching her and the others something.

But what is exactly wrong, really? I mean, since I've never seen Max teach anything, I can't be sure whether to judge if he's a great teacher or not.

"U-Um... Oh boy..."

Oh boy was right, because none of us were getting anywhere because of these two arguing. And they're even older than I am! But nevertheless, the arguing seemed to have stopped as Max turned to face me with a demanding expression.

"And you? Who are you, human kid?" Max asked roughly, causing me to think whether to give my name or not. But as I was thinking, it seems as though Max didn't have enough patience to wait as he called to me again...

"Well!?" Max snapped, causing me to perk up and say my name silently. But all Max seemed to have heard from me was...

"...xas." I whispered, causing him to frown.

"What was that?" Max spoke up before I raised my voice, annoyed on having to repeat it.

"It's Roxas! That's my name!" I cried out loud, causing Max to raise an eyebrow while Kanoe blinked, before smiling. For the beast boy, he frowned, looking like he has heard that name before, but... that couldn't be it, right?

I mean, this is the first time we've ever met...

"Roxas...?" Max repeated, looking as if he was trying to remember something about my name while Kanoe seemed to like how my name is said.

"Ha ha, that's actually a nice name you got." Kanoe complimented, causing me to smile for a bit before Max spoke up, breaking out of his dazed expression.

"Okay, so what's a human kid doing here?" Max questioned me, causing me to frown. He's calling me human when he's acting practically human himself... A short-tempered human, that is.

"You know, it's rude to call me like that. You're human too." I reminded, causing the beast boy to shrug before he spoke up.

"I'm half and half, actually..." Max reminded, making me confused, causing Kanoe to explain, despite the fact that I already knew. Wait... if I already knew he wasn't completely human, why did I feel so confused? Did I needed a confirmation?

"He means he's half-beast and half-human..." Kanoe explained, before I slowly nodded my head in understanding.

"Oh... I see..." I spoke out as Kanoe sighed, folding her arms.

"Trust me that it hardly surprised me." Kanoe explained as Max twitched his eyes before he turned to me, looking like he had questions for me to answer.

"Whatever... Look kid, you should head back home. Where's your mom? Or your dad?" Max asked me, causing me to frown and be silent. I knew this question was going to come, but for him to suddenly ask...

"What...? Are you deaf or—" Max started to ask before I explained.

"I don't have a family..." I spoke out, surprising the two for a bit before Max just raised an eyebrow, looking like he already heard this before.

"Huh? Oh... you're just like AJ and Kyuta... well that's a bummer." Max sighed, causing me to raise an eyebrow back. Just like AJ and Kyuta? Did that mean...

"Max! Take it easy! I mean, it could really upset-" Kanoe tried to stop him from trying to hurt me emotionally any further, only to get a glare back from the beast boy, as he spoke his words loudly enough for most people to hear, despite of them not being around us.

"So what?! He doesn't need anyone's sympathies if something like that happened. Plenty of beasts and people do that, doesn't make this one special..." Max scoffed as I frowned.

From the sound of his tone, it sounds as if he doesn't plan on giving me any sympathy for my loss. Of course, it's not like I needed any sympathy to begin with, anyway. To that, I decided to assure the two that I was fine.

"I'm fine." I assured sternly, catching Kanoe by surprise.

"Huh...?"

"It's been 10 years since they've died... since they've passed away after I was born, so yeah... I'm used to it..." I explained, feeling a little bit down every time I reminded myself of what I was told about my parents from others.

The beast guy didn't seem to care as he turned, looking like he was about to make his leave.

"See? Well anyway, let's go." Max grunted, until Kanoe stopped him, sounding like she wanted to help me with my problems.

"But wait... shouldn't we at least help him? He seems pretty lost." Kanoe asked, causing me to be a little surprised. She just met and she already wants to help me? What's with that? Max on the other hand didn't seem to mind as he lowered down a little.

"...Fine. Might as well. I'll take you two back. Get on my back." Max called out, causing me to confused.

Is he going to carry the two of us at the same time? Won't that be hard...? Before I could ask however...

"Huh? What are you— Whoa!"

I yelped as Max grabbed both Kanoe and me and placed the two of us on his back before he begins to jump across from building to building.

Whoa, what the!? What's with that!? Is it his ability with parkour or is it something else? Kanoe didn't seem too bothered by it as she explained of what Jutengai would be like with the many beasts around.

"Yeah... Trust me when I say that this place is crazy... even I was shocked by this. But trust me when I say that you get used to it." Kanoe assured softly as I could only frown at her words.

"Ah... Ah..." were the only words I could say at this moment while Max continued to take the two of us back to where he lived. Up there, that was the place I was going to see some new faces and possibly friends to make with... if possible.

Soon, from building to building, we had arrived to a house that didn't seem to be quite fancy. Just... normal and small, to be exact. And in and out of the house were some other new faces I've never seen before.

Two of them were human faces while the rest seemed to be beast-like people.

"I'm back...!" Max called out as he let the two of us off of his back. A monkey-like beast man looked up, looking rather annoyed as he seemed to have waited for Max to come back to his home. And it wasn't just him.

There were two other beast men with the monkey beast. One looked a bear beast and the other looked a pig beast. For the bear beast, he seemed to be dressed in the same way as Max was, but he looked a bit more beast-like than Max was.

"About time..." The monkey beast grunted as the bear beast narrowed his eyes at the three of us.

"Where were you?" The bear beast asked as Max shrugged before he explained of what he had done earlier with the two of us.

"Chasing after toots here and picked up another random kid." Max explained, causing Kanoe to glare at him for the nickname he apparently called her just now: toots.

"I have a name, you know. It's not that hard to pronounce." Kanoe reminded bitterly, only for Max to scoff.

"Whatever." Max scoffed as I looked at the two. These two... They were definitely in a bitter relationship with each other, huh...? It wouldn't surprise me if they tried to fistfight or have a Pokémon battle with each other...

"Ah... you brought another human here?!" The pig beast exclaimed in shock, looking quite shocked to see me with Max and Kanoe. The sudden looks I was getting from the three beast men made me feel a bit nervous and uncomfortable...

"H-Hi..." I spoke out...

See? That's just how much nervous I was. But before I could ask any questions, I took notice of the bear beast staring at me, looking like he was inspecting me for something... Although, it was creeping me out a little.

"Hm..."

"Huh...?"

"Hmmm..."

"Um..."

Max seemed to have noticed me getting uncomfortable as he explained, while sounding a little uninterested at the moment.

"Yeah, he's staring at you to see if you have potential. Why else we gotten three wimps as our apprentices?" Max scoffed before I heard two new voices that I haven't heard before...

"I... somehow take offense of that." The first voice spoke out.

"Hey!" The second voice whined as I turned to see two other boys that were human like me and Kanoe.

One seemed to be a young researcher... possibly younger or the same age as me.

He had lighter green hair, which goes no further than his chin in length, though usually hidden by a hat he wears. He has violet colored eyes. AJ is shown to wear a white hat, with a golden outlining for the front, with two gold buttons near the transitioning area.

The Galar Region's symbol is noted to be on front of his hat. He wears a long flowing lab coat, reaching to his calves, having an additional blue interior.

His lab coat happens to have two breast pockets and wears a blue shirt underneath his lab coat. He additionally wears a pair of white shorts with multiple pockets, and a pair of white sandals.

As for the other kid, he seemed to be a little bit younger than I was. He had dark brown messy hair with a white shirt with light green pants and a red sash wrapped around his waist.

So those two are the two other humans that the beast people were talking about along with Kanoe when I had arrived in Jutengai for the first time.

"Ugh... Anyway, his name is Roxas. He was caught fighting Jiromaru and he managed to avoid getting hurt." Kanoe explained to everyone, which seemed to have surprised them all.

"Huh?!" The second boy exclaimed in surprise as the monkey beast seemed to be amused.

"Caught fighting Jiromaru, eh? Well that's pretty something you don't hear everyday. I remember when Kyuta and AJ gotten their butts kicked." The monkey beast chuckled, only to get a glare from the young researcher.

"Hey! He surrounded us and his team! How were we supposed to defend ourselves?!" The young researcher retorted, only to get a shrug from that monkey beast.

"Yeah... right." The monkey beast grunted as the researcher narrowed his eyes at the monkey beast.

"Oh yeah? Well why not you fight him? It shouldn't be too hard." The young researcher suggested, only to get a shaking head of refusal from the monkey beast as he continued to sip something, which kinda looked like tea.

"No can do, kid. Not a fighter or a swordsman..." The monkey beast reminded, only to get roasted by the young researcher.

"Right... You're a lazy monkey..." The young researcher grumbled, causing the monkey beast to widen his eyes and almost drop his tea while the pig beast snickered at the roast the monkey beast had got.

And surprisingly, there was... a woman. A human woman, to be exact. She looked beautiful...

She had dark orange hair, with her hair made into a ponytail, but the ponytail seemed to be rather unruly. She wore a pink apron, which seemed to show that she seemed to be the mother of someone... Maybe Kanoe or Max...?

"Um... hi Roxas." The young guy called out as I turned my attention to him.

He seemed to be rather timid while speaking to me, possibly because I was either older than him or it's because he was seeing a new face for the first time.

"Hi, um... Could someone get this guy to stop staring at me...?" I said, before realizing that the bear beast was still staring at me with narrowed eyes. Luckily, I was saved my the young researcher who took out a fan.

"Sure thing..."

**SLAP!**

"Problem solved!" The young researcher called out brightly, causing the bear beast to wince at the slap he had taken from the large fan.

"Ow! What was that for, you little brat!?" The bear beast snapped as the young researcher glared back at him.

"You were scaring him with your stare, that's why." The young researcher spoke out simply. Of course, that seemed to have gotten the bear beast mad as he gritted his teeth and growled at the young researcher.

"Why you...!?"

Noticing this, the young researcher turned to the woman, asking for her help.

"So Miss Akane, would you please help me before I make Tatara my meat shield?" The young researcher asked, turning to her. So that woman was named Akane... And that monkey beast the young researcher referred to was probably Tatara.

Before Tatara, the monkey beast could protest, Miss Akane smiled sweetly, looking as if she wants to help the young researcher out.

"Of course, AJ. Now now, Kuma... Let's calm down. Of course, I can do something that can quickly calm you down in five seconds..." Miss Akane said, causing me to learn that the young researcher's name was AJ.

And Kuma... was that the bear beast's name? Or was it some nickname that Miss Akane uses to him?

"Um... W-What's that, honey...?" The bear beast asked, causing me to blink when he called Miss Akane "honey". Were those two married? Well... I guess that could explain on who their kid was...

"I don't like that smile she's making... I sense a maelstrom... Kyuta, run!" AJ called out, turning to the timid kid, who seemed to be named Kyuta. For Kyuta, he blinked before he and AJ got out of Miss Akane's way.

Miss Akane on the other hand, stepped up to that husband of hers with a sweet smile... that seemed... rather ominous for some reason.

"Uh oh..."

"Oh no..."

Both Max and Kanoe were looking as if they were bracing themselves for what's about to happen as Tatara and the pig beast were ready to see on what's about to happen, too.

"Well... here it comes."

"Who knew that a smile like hers can make opponents quiver in fear..."

"Why? What's gonna happen...?" I asked, but before I could get a response from someone, Miss Akane was already close to the bear beast, who looked really nervous, judging by how his face was looking at the moment.

"Um... honey, let's talk about-"

**SLAP! WHACK! SLAP!**

"AHHHHHH!"

Ouch... That really... really had got to hurt... No, seriously. Really hurt.

* * *

**Later...**

"Ugh..."

Soon, all of us were in Miss Akane's home, as she smiled down at her beast husband, who was lying on the couch, covered in some bruises. I could only fear sorry for the pain the bear beast seemed to be feeling.

"That's why you shouldn't be underestimating me or help Kyuta or AJ or any small kids." Miss Akane spoke seriously with a smile, causing the bear beast to wince at the expression he was getting from her.

"F-Fine..." The bear beast grumbled as I remained silent. To think that the wife would overpower the husband... I don't think it's the first time I've seen something like this, but it still shocks me on how easy it was for Miss Akane to take the bear beast down.

"Is it over?" AJ asked, with Max confirming it with his answer.

"Yep... apparently." Max pointed out as AJ apologized to the bear beast with a sheepish look.

"Okay good. Sorry Mr. Kumatetsu... I had to use the secret weapon." AJ said sheepishly as I blinked. Mr. Kumatetsu... or just Kumatetsu... That was his name, then? But the bear beast didn't seem to be amused as he just glared at AJ...

"You little... AUGH..." Kumatetsu didn't seem to have the strength to move much as he could only wince from the pain Miss Akane had delivered to him with her punches and blows...

But nevertheless, I needed to know what was going to happen to me now that I'm here. Will I ever be able to get back to my home?

"Um... So is anyone going to tell me what's going to happen to me?

"Nothing bad, Roxas... I think...?" Kyuta guessed, causing me to frown a little. Well that's comforting...

"So anyway... that there's my dad, Kumatetsu Kyochi. The woman who kicked his butt over and over again was my mom, Akane Kyochi. The lazy monkey uncle of mine is Tatara, and the pig monk uncle of mine who's the most calm out of all of us is Hyaku." Max explained to me.

So the pig's name is Hyaku... It doesn't seem so bad...

"His name is kinda mouthful... so Max calls him that." AJ explains, allowing me to realize that Hyaku was just the short version of the pig beast's name...

"I see... It's nice to meet you all." I said nervously, while trying to sound polite and nice. Hyaku seemed to understand my timid personality as he smiled back at me, greeting me back politely.

"I can say the same here, Roxas..." Hyaku spoke while Tatara shrugged before putting his hands on the back of his furry head.

"Meh, whatever... As long as you don't cause trouble, you're fine... I think." Tatara grunted, causing me to frown at the attitude and tone.

"Says you... no offense." AJ reminded, earning him a small glare from the monkey beast. As for Miss Akane, she was already getting friendly and sweet with me as she walked over and hugged me...!

"Hi there, Roxas dear. Aww... you're such a handsome young man. I can already tell that you're a great Trainer." Miss Akane said softly, causing me to blush and feel a bit sheepish and nervous from her affection.

"O-Oh, um... Thanks, Mrs. Kyochi... Wait, me? A Trainer...?" I asked, surprised for what she said earlier.

Mm? Am I wrong? You aren't one?" Miss Akane asked, sounding rather confused as I hesitate to answer.

"Well, I... I have a partner, but..." I started to say, but...

"So you're a Trainer. That's that." Max finished for me, interrupting what I was going to say, causing Kanoe to scold him for interrupting me before I could finish.

"Max, let him finish..." Kanoe scolded while AJ grinned at hearing me have a Pokémon partner.

"Cool, you got a partner. Awesome!" AJ exclaimed while Kyuta remembered of what I had said earlier before Max had interrupted.

"Um... Roxas, you said that you had a Pokémon but you aren't a Trainer, right?" Kyuta asked, causing me to be rather silent at the question. To tell you the truth, I didn't know what to say or how to respond...

But to show that I had a partner, I took out a Pokéball, or should I say...

"That's... a Cherish Ball!" Kanoe pointed out, which seemed to have quickly caught AJ's attention as he took it toe examine it.

"AH! No way! A Cherish Ball is one of the many rare types of Pokéball that you could ever find possibly in the entire world! Its catch rate is 1x and for you to have this, you must be pretty famous, eh?" AJ explained before asking.

Me? Famous? Well for being an outcast, yeah but...

"N-Not really... how do you know so much about this?" I asked, causing AJ to look rather puzzled by my question.

"O-Oh... um... w-well... I-It's nothing, really. I just saw it from a book... yeah." AJ explained sheepishly, causing me to frown. There was something more than that, but... it's best to not press the young researcher for answers...

"I see... Anyways, no. I'm not famous. It was only luck that I got this..." I explained as AJ lost his sheepish look before he looked like he wanted to know... who my Pokémon partner was.

"Vee! Eevee!"

Yep... You guessed it. My partner is Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. One of the Pokémon that are considered to be the rarest because they have multiple evolution forms that people could like...

"An Eevee?" Kyuta asked in surprise while Kanoe cooed at the sight of it... At least, I think that's what she did.

"Aww..." She said while Max didn't seem impressed with my partner.

"Big whoop... it's an Eevee. You can practically find that anyway." Max grunted, which seemed to have offended Eevee a little as she glared at the half-beast.

"Vee!"

Oh boy... At being insulted, she blew a raspberry at Max before turning her head away... That's how she is when she feels offended or when she gets insulted just by her looks...

"Come on, girl. You don't have to take that..." I tried to calm her down, which seemed to have worked as my Evolution partner calmed down a little, yet she remained annoyed with Max for his recent comment.

"She's pretty cute..." Kanoe commented, with AJ looking like he agreed.

"I'll say... having this Eevee makes you feel like you're really something." AJ spoke up, with Kyuta smiling.

"Yeah..." He agreed as I smiled in thanks. Before I could say anything though, I noticed a cute little white mouse-like creature pop out of Kyuta's head, gazing at both me and Eevee.

"Huh? What's that...? A Pokémon?" I asked, curious as to what that little white mouse creature was. At me pointing it out, Kyuta realized who I was referring to before he introduced his little friend to me and Eevee.

"Huh? Oh this? This is Chiko and... we don't know. I found him on the streets, and he became my friend." Kyuta explained, with AJ adding in what Chiko could be...

"She doesn't look like a Pokémon, but we never seen this kind of mouse before." AJ explained, causing me to understand a little.

"Oh... I see..." I spoke out before Kanoe offered something that would allow me to see what their partners are like.

"You know...we have Pokémon too. Wanna see Roxas?" Kanoe asked, causing me to smile at the invitation.

"Well... I wouldn't mind." I spoke up, allowing AJ, Kanoe, and Max to bring out their Pokéballs.

"Go Pignite!"

"Let's go Oshawott!"

"Here we go Snivy!"

Max's partner was a Pignite, a Fire-Fighting Type. Kanoe's partner was an Oshawott, a Water Type. AJ on the other hand had a Snivy as his partner, which was a Grass Type Pokémon. I recognized the three, though... They were...

"The three Unova starters...?" I pointed out, causing AJ to give a small grin.

"Yeah, talk about a coincidence, eh?"

"Sniv..."

AJ smiled while Snivy spoke timidly before he hid behind AJ, causing him to smile apologetically.

"He's pretty timid..." AJ explained, before Kanoe explained about Oshawott.

"Oshawott here is a beauty. She loves dazzling her performances with me."

"Osha!" Kanoe explained while Oshawott agreed with her human partner. I smiled, understanding on how great their bond was together before I turned to Max, who had Pignite as his partner.

"Pignite and I are the toughest out here! Dad gave him to me as a Tepig, but as we grew up, he evolved into a Pignite."

"Nite!" Max explained, with Pignite shooting little flames out of his nose proudly. So... those two also have a strong bond together, since they were together even when Pignite was still a Tepig...

"Huh... I see... What about you, Kyuta?" I asked, turning to him, who blinked before he rubbed his arm nervously.

"Huh...? Well..." He looked uncomfortable to explain until Max said the answer for him.

"He doesn't have one." Max spoke up, catching my attention while Kyuta looked annoyed at the half-beast guy.

"I didn't need you to answer it! But anyway...yeah, I don't got one. I was planning to visit the Professor who can give me one of the starters when..." Kyuta started to say before he stopped himself, causing me to frown in concern.

"When what...?" I asked, only to receive silence in response as he looked uncomfortable with wanting to say more.

Miss Akane seemed to have noticed it too before she explained for him...

"You see... Kyuta's an orphan. He recently lost his mother from a hit-and-run accident." Miss Akane explained, causing me to widen my eyes in shock, before I frowned, feeling sorry for Kyuta for his recent loss.

"Oh... I see..." I spoke out.

"Yeah..." Kyuta sighed, causing me to frown even more before I took a deep breath.

"Well... I think I have one... for you to have." I spoke, catching Kyuta's attention.

"Huh!?" His reaction was understandable. Even Tatara and Max's surprise were no surprise to me.

"Huh? Seriously?!"

"What the hell?!"

AJ on the other hand, seemed amazed for what kind of starter Pokémon I was going to give to Kyuta...

"Cool... that's pretty awesome! So which one is it?! Is it a Grookey? Or Sobble? Oh! Or maybe a Scorbunny? It'll be a good choice for Kyuta since he is one of the apprentices of Mr. Kumatetsu." AJ exclaimed as I smiled sheepishly.

To tell you the truth, it was none of the Galar starters exactly...

"Well..."

By taking the Luxury Ball out, I allowed everyone to see it before giving it to Kyuta, who slowly took it and opened it to show...

"Lu...?"

"A... Riolu?" Kyuta breathed out in awe and with widened eyes. Yep... The Pokémon I gave to Kyuta was a Riolu. How I got the Emanation Pokémon? Well... it's a story for another time... when the time is right, that is.

"Lu?"

Riolu gazed at Kyuta curiously, as if trying to see what Kyuta was all about from how he looked to how he seemed to be with his eyes...

"What do you think, Riolu...?

Riolu stared at the timid guy for a little while before he smiled brightly and nodded towards Kyuta.

"Rio!" Riolu called out as this caused Kyuta to smile at his new partner... The partner I was able to give him.

"Thank you so much Roxas and nice to meet you Riolu." Kyuta said happily, causing Riolu to give a happy chirp while Max just watched with folded arms and a small smile on his face.

"A Riolu... Huh, guess that would make sense." He commented, causing me to raise an eyebrow before I shook my head, while AJ was confused as to what he seemed to have meant.

"Huh?" AJ started to ask, only to be shot down by the half-beast guy.

"Nothing." Max spoke, before Kanoe turned to me, possibly wanting to know how I got the little Fighting Type in the first place.

"How did you have a Riolu?" Kanoe asked me, causing me to frown a little as I didn't feel like answering at the moment. To that, I hesitated to say much, which seemed to concern Miss Akane.

"Well... I..."

"Mm? You okay?" She asked me, causing me to give a sheepish smile. Like with you guys, I'm going to save the story for another time... when the time is right.

"I'm fine... I'd prefer not to say it if it's okay." I explained, causing the others to look as if they understood.

"It's okay. We understand if you don't want to say anything if its uncomfortable." AJ assured, with Max agreeing with him, but with a reminder of what I shouldn't do.

"If you say that it was abandoned or found hurt or whatever sob story, then it's okay. Besides, don't even get teary eye." Max called out, leaving me to be confused. Teary eye? Like crying...?

"Huh? Why's that?" I asked, before Max began to explain to me.

"That's my dad's number#1 rule of training: Don't cry. He hates crybabies, no use for them. You cry and he kicks you out." Max explained bluntly, causing me to frown. Well, that's rather blunt and harsh at the same time...

"Hm... Well, you won't find me crying... That, I can promise..." I assured to him. But to be honest, I wasn't sure if I could actually keep it if something traumatic or scary were to happen as time went by.

"Vee!" Eevee sounded confident as she was certain that she wasn't going to cry, either. I've gotta say, that's why I love her as my Pokémon partner.

"Then we can get along." Max stated, while Kanoe frowned at the rule...

"Kinda an unfair rule." Kanoe pointed out, as I could only agree in my mind. But Miss Akane seemed to approve of it as she smiled softly.

"True, but Kumatetsu is a very nice beast and you all can understand him very well like I do."

Huh... The bear beast is a nice beast? That's kinda hard to believe, judging by how he looked and the way he talked. Even his face expression was scary enough to show that he could hardly be a nice guy.

"Mm... so anyway, there's a lot of beasts I noticed. Why is that?" I asked, causing Max to raise an eyebrow while the others turned to me, with some looking surprised and some looking understandable.

"What...? You don't know about Jutengai...?" Max asked me, making me confused. What was that he just said?

"Juten... gai...?" I repeated, unsure of how to pronounce it well.

That got Max annoyed and confused as he tried to explain briefly on what Jutengai was...

"What the hell...? Jutengai is the home to all beasts and my dad happens to be one of the Grandmaster's apprentices." Max explained, leaving me to be more confused and curious.

Grandmaster? Apprentice? The bear beast is an apprentice to this... Grandmaster? What's that about?

"Allow me to explain Roxas. Here in the Galar Region, we have dragons who roams around the lands and can be easily tamed. But also, we beasts live here together with humans, of course. Jutengai is actually just a simple city with the population mostly beasts." Hyaku explained.

The Galar region has something like this...? Why don't I know about it? Not just beasts... but dragons that aren't apparently Pokémon?

"Oh... wow. Dragons? And beasts...? In my life living in the Galar region... I've never heard of such things until now..." I admitted, causing the monkey beast to raise an eyebrow towards me.

"Huh? Seriously? Jeez, what kind of rock have you been living?" Tatara asked, causing me to frown, wondering if it was just a simple question or an insult. Anyways, Kanoe added a fact about the popularity here in the Beast Kingdom...

"Anyway... no humans have ever come here that much." She explained, with Miss Akane agreeing with her.

"It's true... To be fair, before Kyuta, Kanoe, and AJ ever showed up, especially when I brought my little Max into this world, I was the only human ever living here." Miss Akane explained, causing me to blink in surprise.

So Miss Akane was the first human to live in such a place like this...?

"Huh... I see. But you know, I remember that boar-kid telling me that humans didn't belong here. Any reason why?" I asked, causing Tatara to scratch the back of his furry head. Hyaku remained silent before Max spoke up for them.

"Well..."

"Because they say humans are monsters having darkness harboring inside them..." Max explained, leaving me a little bewildered and surprised for what I just heard.

"W-What? Us? Monsters...?" I repeated in confusion... Hold on... was it really confusion that I was feeling... or was it fear? But why do I feel afraid? This is just some silly rumor about us humans... right?

"Yep... humans who gets consumed by their own darkness gets turn into monsters." Max explained, causing me to shake my head. So is this why the beast people were wary of me...? Because I could become a monster someday?

"That's... so cruel. Has that ever happened to anyone?" I asked, causing Max to shake his head in response.

"Not that we know, but..." Max didn't look proud to say as he frowned, unsure of what to say next. At that point, I began to think that me being here was a problem, making me start to believe that I should just leave here... if I could leave somehow.

"...I see. So... should I just leave here?" I asked, causing Tatara to smirk.

"Meh. Sure! The less there are, the bet—"

**SLAP!**

"OW!" He didn't get to finish his words as Miss Akane had slapped the back of his head hard as she glared at him sternly for saying that.

"Enough! That's enough! Besides, this never happened before. Those are just rumors nobody gets!" Miss Akane snapped as the monkey beast winced from the pain as he glared back at her...

"Didn't need to slap me that hard..." Tatara groaned, before Miss Akane looked at me with a gentle smile and expression.

"Anyway, Roxas... don't listen to them. I've been here very longer than anyone and that never happened to me. Besides, who says that humans have darkness? Beasts, Pokemon, and everything in this world has darkness and while it may be a bad thing to have, we need it still."

That's... a good point... A really good one.

"Light and darkness are needed together like the sun and the moon, a sword and a shield, black and white, diamond and pearl, ruby and sapphire, gold and silver, and other things you may see. Like the old saying goes: 'Can't have one without the other!'"

I could only smile at the bright words Miss Akane were trying to say to me, while I also felt a bit silly at the same time.

"Oh... R-Right..." I spoke sheepishly, before scratching the back of my head.

At that point, Kanoe took the chance to explain to me how she, Kyuta, and AJ came over to Jutengai in their own ways.

"Yeah... Of course me, Kyuta, and AJ came over. I came over here by accident because... well, I'm done with my star status of being a star and for other reasons... Kyuta because of his mother and didn't want to live with his other relatives... and AJ, well he said that his father went off." Kanoe explained.

So all three of them had troubles with their own times and are trying to focus on life rather than focusing on what happened in the past.

"Yeah... not that I minded. Let's just say I don't feel comfortable around my other family members..." AJ spoke out bitterly, sounding rather uncomfortable upon hearing Kanoe speak like that.

"I... see..." I spoke out, before Kanoe turned to me with a question I didn't want to hear, really...

"You're an orphan, too, right? You said you don't have a family..." Kanoe asked, causing me to frown. It's not like I know if my parents were really dead or not. All I know, is that I was being lied to for many times...

I just... wanted the truth. But they didn't have to know that at the moment, because... This was something I'm dealing with on my own. It's not for anyone else to interfere with the problems I'm having.

"...Yeah, I don't." I spoke out, with Max looking a little pitiful for once.

"Sorry to hear..." He spoke out before AJ tried to point out the bright side for me to hear.

"It's okay, you don't have to feel lonely anymore. We all have our reasons to be here..." AJ assured, before Kyuta asked a different question for me to answer.

"So... are you an only kid in your family?" He asked, causing me to raise an eyebrow. I mean... I know nothing about my parents, so I can't be too sure if I had any younger or older siblings.

"Mm... You can say that." I spoke out, causing him to smile a little.

"Just like me then..." Kyuta spoke out silently before the bear beast yawned. Judging by how he's moving right now, he seemed to have recovered from the small beating he had taken from Miss Akane.

"All right, kids. Enough talking. Let's get back to training..." Kumatetsu yawned, causing me to blink. Training?

"Training...? As a swordsman...?" I asked, as I recalled the sword Max had with him. And it wasn't just him... the bear beast seemed to have a sword too, along with Kyuta, AJ, and Kanoe, although they seem to be practice wooden swords to be exact.

"Yeah... they're my apprentices." Kumatetsu explained to me, causing me to blink. So he's a master just like how Max is?

"Yep... Apparently, my dad is one of the chosen to become Grandmaster from the current one." Max explained, causing me to a little curious. I know, I know... I'm asking a lot of questions, but can you blame me?

This is something I've never heard of before in my life, so I should at least learn what this is all about.

"Really? How does that work?" I asked, causing Hyaku to clear his throat and explain.

"You see... every century, the Grandmaster reincarnates into a god and once he decides what he's gonna reincarnate into, he selects candidates to takes his stead. He already selected two." Hyaku explained, before Miss Akane added more details.

Akane - One is Iozen, who is very popular around Jutengai and is pretty strong. He has a lot of apprentices and people seek out to him. Course, Kuma here is also another candidate and he says to be Iozen's equal... by strength, but nobody knows him better than we do." Miss Akane explained.

That seemed to have embarrassed Kumatetsu a little as he blushed a little from his wife's comments.

"Honey... please." He groaned while blushing in embarrassment. I wanted to smile and laugh a little, but something caught my attention as I recalled of what Hyaku had said earlier.

"Huh... wait, reincarnate? Reincarnate... into what, exactly?" I asked, causing Tatara to shrug.

"Who knows, kid... That's their decision. Not ours..." Tatara spoke out, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"Course... humans can't reincarnate. Only beasts here... Well, more like the grandmasters." Max explained, causing me to think on what I just heard. Apparently, while humans can't reincarnate, the beasts here in Jutengai can... when they're grandmasters?

"I don't know. I kinda like him... he's pretty calm and funny." AJ chuckled, causing me to a little confused. Who was he referring to just now? Hyaku seemed to know who he was talking about as he smiled in agreement.

"Well... he is a kind Grandmaster as people would say." Hyaku commented with AJ nodding with a smile.

I remained silent, unsure of what to say or think. I was learning so much while I was away from my hometown. Come to think about it, why did I end up here in Jutengai in the first place? Was there something I needed to do here?

But why me? What's so special about me, anyway...?

"What are you waiting for?"

"Huh...?"

I looked up to see Kumatetsu staring down at me, as he seemed to have noticed me thinking... Or at least, I think he saw me trapped in my mind before he offered a small challenge to me.

"You're here, aren't you? Why not a little sparring match?" Kumatetsu asked me, causing me to widen my eyes. Wait... a sparring match!? With our fists, Pokémon, or what? Wait... He's holding his sword... So he wants a sword sparring match?

"Wait, you're gonna take him as an apprentice?" Max asked, sounding surprised at his dad's offer.

"Hey, I trained you, so how hard it can be?" Kumatetsu asked, only to get narrowed eyes from Kyuta, who reminded him of how their previous training sessions went down.

"Says the guy who told us to grip our swords and said 'Whoosh' and a 'Bang' like it was nothing." Kyuta reminded, causing Kumatetsu to glare angrily at him.

Uh oh...

"Why you...!"

That doesn't look or sound good...!

"Welp, he's angry. Quick Roxas, Kyuta, run for it!" AJ called to me and Kyuta, causing me to blink. Run where, exactly?

"H-Huh?"

"Just run!"

But before I could, Kumatetsu first targeted Kyuta!

"You little brat...!"

Kumatetsu charged at Kyuta, who managed to dodge out of the way. But in the process...)

**WHACK!**

His sword hilt ends up hitting my stomach!

"Roxas!"

I could hear Kanoe and Kyuta call out to me in worry as I stagger back before falling on one knee, before getting back up... Ow... That was... rather painful in the stomach... The other seemed to be quite concerned as they called out to me, with Hyaku being the first.

"Are you alright...!?" He called out as I struggled to answer, but managed to say...

"Just fine..."

Actually, I wasn't really fine... That hilt was hard, and a hit to the stomach...!? Ugh... That was so not pleasant... at all!

"Kuma!" Miss Akane sounded angry when she called to her husband with his name for short.

"Huh? What?"

**SLAP!**

Sounds like the wife has hit her husband again... And for a good reason, too.

"OW! That really hurt, honey...!" Kumatetsu snapped, sounding a little annoyed for another hit he seemed to have gotten on the head.

"Well of course it did! You need to be careful around when doing that!" Miss Akane snapped at him, causing him to stutter before he tried to make an excuse, before even trying to say that I could still be fine right now.

"I-I'm sure he's fine...!" Kumatetsu tried to say before Max helped me... by picking me up from the floor!?

"Don't worry, I'm sure you can walk it off Roxas..." Max grunted as Kanoe winced, looking like she felt sorry for the hit I just taken from the hilt of that sword.

"Jeez, that must've really hurt..." Kanoe pointed out, with AJ shrugging.

"With a big guy with anger issues like that, you can possibly imagine." AJ pointed out, only to get another glare from the big bear, who didn't take it so lightly.

"What you say?!" Kumatetsu snapped, causing the young researcher to point out that his words were true.

"See what I mean?" AJ asked, as I frowned. Realizing that conflicts might occur all because of me getting hit by that sword, I tried to assure to everyone that I was fine, even with the little wound that I had gotten just now.

"I'm fine..." I said as I got off of Max before sighing...

"You sure...?" Max asked, causing me to nod in response before I lied to on how much it had hurt.

"Yeah... it only hurt a little, to be honest..." I lied, despite wincing a little. That caused the others to be surprised a little while AJ was mostly awed by how I was able to... endure that little hit.

"S-Seriously...?"

"Wow... you must be total OP! Can you be our sensei than Mr. Kumatetsu and Max?" AJ asked, catching me by surprise. Even Kumatetsu and Max were shocked to hear what AJ had said about me being in charge.

"H-Huh...? Me?"

"What!? Why him!?"

Judging by their tones, it seems to be clear that they don't approve, before AJ began to explain of why I could be the better teacher than the two of them.

"Cause he's awesome. You two may be awesome, but you're not OP awesome." AJ explained bluntly, much to their shock and to my surprise.

"WHAT!?" The two snapped as I quickly took action by declining the offer.

"As tempting as it is, I'll have to decline. I know nothing about how to wield a sword or how to attack or block with it..." I reminded and it was true. While I may look more calm and composed than those two, I have no clue on how to wield a sword.

"That's too bad and maybe that's a good thing. You don't want to train under these two." Kanoe reminded, only to get double glares from the two beasts... Well, one beast and one half-beast.

"Show your master respect at least!" The two snapped together, causing me to sweat drop at the two. Those two were definitely father and son if they talk the same way and with the way they behave.

But of course, with none of his students believing them as their real masters...

"Yeah right." Kanoe, Kyuta, and AJ all said together, much to their annoyance.

But... Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm actually talking to some people that aren't Pokémon, but people that can speak using human words. It's starting to feel a lot more better than when I had to spend time at that hometown of mine.

No one in the town would ever tell me the truth, saying that I was too young or a child to know anything big or bad... But no one is acting like that here...

Maybe... Just maybe... I could enjoy my life far better here than I had back when I was growing up at that town... But while I was thinking about it more, Kanoe seemed to have noticed me going silent as she called to me in concern.

"Roxas...?" She called out before I turned to Eevee, who watched intently at the possible new friends I could be making, along with the beast people since she's never seen them before in her life, too.

"Well girl? What do you think I should do?" I asked, causing my Normal Type partner to smile at me.

"Vee! Eevee Vee!" Eevee cried out, causing me to smile. She felt the same way as I did... possibly.

"You think so, too... huh." I spoke out, before Max called to me, confused as to what Eevee and I were talking about.

"Huh? What are you going on about now?" Max called out, before I turned to both him and his dad, recalling of what they called themselves to the other humans that were with them.

"...You're both masters of the others, right?" I asked, causing the two of them to raise eyebrows.

"Yeah...? What about it, kid?" Kumatetsu asked before I took a deep breath and made my request of wanting to join in... as an apprentice.

"Mind if I... join in?" I asked, causing the two of them to be surprised.

"Huh? What the hell? Seriously?" Max asked, while the other three seemed to agree with me... but I think they got the wrong point of what I meant to ask...

"Well I agree!" AJ exclaimed, while Kyuta and Kanoe smiled.

"After giving me Riolu, I see why not. He's a good person."

"And he's very polite like Kyuta and AJ."

"What... That's...!?" Kumatetsu started to stutter until Miss Akane smiled, as she seemed to be the only one who understood of what I wanted to ask to be...

"I don't think that's what he was talking about, kids... boys." Miss Akane said as she caught her husband and son's attention. The others seemed to be confused as to what she was saying as well.

"Huh?"

"You mean to ask to be a student... right?" Miss Akane asked as I blushed. Yep... she saw right through of me what I wanted to do with the other human kids and the two beasts.

"...Yes..." I answered shyly, causing Max to blink before he shrugged, agreeing with the idea of me becoming an apprentice.

"Oh... well, the more the merrier." Max spoke with AJ pouting of me declining to be his master.

"Aw... You would've been the better master than those two..." AJ pouted, only to get the double glare from both the father beast and the son beast.

"HEY!" The two snapped until I reminded the young researcher of what I can't do because of what I haven't done or learned before.

"I told you... I know next to nothing about how to use a sword..." I reminded, causing AJ to pout again before he sighed in defat, looking as if he had given up on the idea of me becoming his master.

"Good point..." AJ sighed until he turned to see the glaring expression Max was giving him.

"Say that again to my face and I'll be using you as a sword." Max growled, making AJ glare at him back.

"Dammit Max, don't you ever try to be polite?"

"Says the human brat who's insulting me and my dad!"

"Shut up! You guys quit pointing out my flaws!"

I watched with a deadpanned look, watching the two of them argue back and forth while Miss Akane seemed to like the idea of me being around her family and the young human apprentices...

"Well I think it's right for Roxas to join in! Trust me, you're gonna love it here!" Miss Akane assured, causing me to smile at her in thanks, while Kyuta seemed to have an idea of what he wanted to do later.

"Yeah, maybe I can become a good Trainer, too." Kyuta spoke to himself, while Max grumbled to himself.

"I have a Pokémon... that I can be able to teach..." Max grumbled. Looks like he's still feeling a bit annoyed at the human apprentices not respecting him. I watched as Pignite tried to comfort him, showing that he seemed to respect Max at least.

For Kanoe, she looked hungry as she rubbed her stomach a little.

"Yeah... speaking of which, I am getting starving. We should probably make some lunch." Kanoe suggested, which seemed to prove my point. Yep, she was definitely hungry right now. But what AJ said next made us all a bit surprised.

"Ooh! Let's go to the bar! That always cheer us up." AJ declared, until Hyaku quickly shot him down.

"AJ, you're too young for it." Hyaku reminded, causing the young researcher to whine a little.

"Come on! None of you people listen to my frigging recommendations and I'm practically more mature and smarter than you people." AJ whined as I sweat dropped. The way he is speaking seems to show that he was mature.

"Most of the time..." added Max, earning him a pout from the young researcher.

Before anyone else could come up with a suggestion, I had one on my own.

"Well..." I started to say, causing Max to be curious as he turned to me with a serious expression.

"What...?"

"Um..."

Okay, maybe this was a bad idea... But it's already too late for me to take it back, right? I mean...

"Spill it out..." Max called out, causing me to frown as I knew how impatient the half-beast guy was at the moment, as he and the others awaited for my question or request that I wanted to say.

"I know... how to cook... if anyone wants me to." I suggested, surprising everyone. Even Kumatetsu seemed to be surprised while Miss Akane on the other hand, looked impressed with my declaration of being able to cook.

"Huh?!"

"Really? I must say, you're quite mature, huh Roxas?" Miss Akane asked me, causing me to feel embarrassed again.

Ugh... I feel like I was starting to blow it. Every time I get complimented, it makes me feel rather flushed and embarrassed. What's with that? Because of that, I couldn't speak as well I rubbed my arm sheepishly.

"W-Well..." I couldn't say a word out while Miss Akane smiled, before comforting me a little.

"No need to be shy... Besides, I'm teaching Kyuta, AJ, and Kanoe how to cook too. Max even knows how to cook." Miss Akane stated, causing me to be a little surprised. So Max knows how to cook, too? That's a surprise.

Of course, Max quickly turns red, looking like he was embarrassed as he tries to deny it.

"M-Mom! T-That isn't true!

"Sure it is sweetie, you're the brooding fatherly type." Miss Akane explained, much to Max's embarrassment as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Is that even a thing?!" Max exclaimed, causing me to chuckle a little. Looks like even he gets embarrassed when being praised by someone... even if it was by his own mom...

* * *

**That evening...**

While Miss Akane and I were helping each other with the cooking, I could hear crashes coming from where it seemed to be the dining room. Looks like someone started a fight... And it really didn't sound good from the sound of it.

I could only frown while Miss Akane just smiled sheepishly, before explaining to me about what it was.

"That always happens...but you get used to it." She explained, causing me to sweat drop before I gave a sheepish smile. I continued to cook, as the scent from the stew and some other simple dishes I was starting to make was making a...

"Oh my... That's starting to smell delicious...!" Miss Akane breathed out in awe as I smiled at her in thanks.

"...I'm glad to hear, Miss Akane..." I said, before I continued to cook. As I was doing so, Miss Akane began to question on how I was able to obtain the cooking skill that I have right now.

"I gotta say... you're really amazing. How did you ever learn to cook like that?" Miss Akane asked me, causing me to blink before I frowned. To tell you the truth, I don't know how I was able to cook okay, too...

It just...

"...I don't know." I said, catching her by surprise.

"Huh...?" Miss Akane was confused as I couldn't explain. I began to stutter, unsure on how to explain it as I couldn't really tell her much since I didn't know on what to say, really.

"I just... know how to... I can't really explain it, to be honest..." I said sadly as Miss Akane frowned, before she made a guess on what it could be.

"Oh... I see... that kinda sounds you have amnesia..."

"It's not amnesia..." I interrupted her, much to her surprise.

"What?" She spoke in surprise as I shook my head, while keeping focused on the peeling of the potatoes.

"...It's nothing about a memory loss or... anything like that..." I spoke as Miss Akane watched with a frown. What I didn't know, was that my black jacket sleeve revealed a little of my arm, causing her to take notice of... that.

"Oh my... Roxas..." Miss Akane gasped, much to my surprise as I turned to her.

"Huh?"

"That scar... it looks serious." She pointed, causing me to widen my eyes. Aw no... She saw my scars...!? Taking quick action, I quickly covered it with a serious look, while trying to reassure her that it was fine.

"It's nothing..." I assured, causing Miss Akane to frown before she didn't press on me.

"Okay... but whatever it was, I can understand..." Miss Akane spoke, as I blinked before I continued peeling. While I was doing so, I thought of wanting to get to know her more, so I thought of asking about her past.

"Mm... So Miss Akane, you said... that you lived here for your whole life, huh?" I asked, causing her to give a sad smile. Did I ask her a hurtful question? But instead, she began to speak about her past.

"Yeah... the Grandmaster, Lord Soshi, found me as a baby. Been raised by my foster mom for a long time. Kumatetsu and I met as kids when nobody accepted us as their students..." Miss Akane started, causing me to frown.

So she and that bear beast father were treated as outcasts... just like how i was...

"Course we always get into some heated arguments like how Kyuta, AJ, and Kanoe get with Kuma and Max. I understood more and more of Kuma's life. He had no parents, no master to teach him... except Lord Soshi..."

I frowned as she continued on with her story, as Miss Akane continued to smile while explaining.

"But Kuma learned his moves all to himself. While I learned how to fight the same way as him, I learned how to clean quite well and handle anything that he causes. But it really doesn't matter... I should be happy that I'm with my friends, Hyaku and Tatara, and even with Kuma... he's one heck of a beast, I'll tell you that."

I could only smile with the end of the story she had as I nodded at her, now understanding of what she and Kumatetsu had been through during their whole life a little. It wasn't much, but it was enough for me to understand their hard times a little.

"...I see. Ngh!" I winced as I dropped the kitchen knife before looking at my hand.

Oh, great... That's just great... I accidentally makes a small cut on my finger during the peeling...! That made Miss Akane quickly worry as she came over to me with a concerned look on her face.

"Oh my! Are you okay, Roxas?!" Miss Akane asked, causing me to smile sheepishly and reassure to her that I was okay.

"Y-Yeah... it was just a small cut." I tried to assure her, but it didn't seem to convince her as she looked like she wanted to help me right away after noticing the cut I accidentally had done to my hand.

"Okay... but I should at least bandaged that up for you." Miss Akane suggested as I shook my head immediately, not wanting her to be bothered by a small cut that I accidentally did to myself. It was a small cut... it was nothing... Nothing at all...

"No... It's nothing." I spoke, confusing her before I continued on.

"This is nothing... compared to the past..." I spoke silently, but enough for her to hear.

"Past?" She repeated in confusion before I shook my head, not wanting her to be involved too much with whatever I was dealing with.

"N-Never mind. I'll be fine, Miss Akane." I assured her, causing her to frown a little before she sighed, giving in to my desires.

"...Okay. Roxas..." She said before she called to me, causing me to turn to her.

"Hm?"

"I don't know what you went through... but I promise that we'll be able to make you strong... Just trust me when I say that, sweetie." Miss Akane said softly before she came over... and kissed my forehead...

It wasn't weird, but a surprise.

"U-Uh..." I couldn't help, but blush... and wonder would she do that... But in any case, it didn't feel so bad now that I'm thinking about it.

To be continued...

* * *

**Roxas' Team:**

**Eevee (F): (Attract, Quick Attack, Swift, Last Resort)**

**Next chapters:**

**Chapter 2: To Become the Bear's Apprentice!**

**Chapter 3: Embrace the What!? Idol's Struggle!**

**Chapter 4: The Truth of the Past**

**Chapter 5: Training for the Tournament! Pt. 1**

**Chapter 6: Training for the Tournament! Pt. 2**

**Next chapter preview:**

Roxas: So... how do we do this...? This training...?

Max: It's kinda easy... We're first going to see how much strength each of you have with this water jug.

AJ: Wait, you can't expect us to break that thing with our own fists!? That'll hurt!

Max: If you wanna whine about it, fine! You can use this wooden sword in order to try and break it!

Kyuta: That's easier said than done... This jug is even harder than it looks... This won't do at all.

Kumatetsu: HEY! Whine about it later! Just try it out first, will you, you brats!?

**Events that occurred:**

\- Roxas ventures and discovers Jutengai, the Beast Kingdom

\- Roxas meets Maxwell Kyochi and his parents, Akane and Kumatetsu

\- Roxas meets Kumatetsu and Max's apprentices: Kanoe, AJ, and Kyuta


End file.
